On horseback as in life: stay centered for best results.

The 30-Degree Heat Wave

After weeks of temperatures in the single digits or low teens, we were plunged into the Polar Vortex. The thermometer in my car only showed double-digit negatives for about four days…and that was without the -47 degree wind chills.

Talk about bad weather for riding.

So you can imagine how it felt when suddenly we reached the mid-30s this weekend. It was a heat wave! You could finally go outside “without feeling like the cold was going to peel your skin off,” to borrow a co-worker’s phrase. And so I was thrilled to have a riding lesson this weekend. Being outside was fantastic.

The lesson was a lot of fun. I got out there early to do some groundwork and warming up before the lesson, figuring Joe would be fairly zippy after so many days inside. I was pleasantly surprised, though. He was pretty responsive and did a nice job of getting into the corners (an ongoing issue for us).

For most of our lesson, we worked on going over different kinds of ground poles and cavalettis. Joe used to jump, but had some kind of problem with a pole at one point. Ever since then he has been very unsure about poles, so one of our big goals is getting Joe more confident and sure-footed. It was a fun lesson. Joe is starting to get soft in the bridle and stretch down now and then, which is a big change from when I first started riding him. As I’ve said before, it’s great riding Joe because he presents new challenges and makes noticeable progress during every lesson. Plus, it was just amazing to be outside after the Polar Vortex.

And so, even though it’s only mid-January (ugh, 3 more months of winter, really?), the likelihood of more intense cold like we’ve had is slim. Hopefully we’ll have ride-able weather the rest of the winter!